different between minute vs slight

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English mynute, minute, mynet, from Old French minute, from Medieval Latin min?ta (“60th of an hour; note”). Doublet of menu.

Pronunciation

• enPR: m?n'?t, IPA^(key): /?m?n?t/
• Rhymes: -?n?t

Noun

minute (plural minutes)

1. A unit of time equal to sixty seconds (one-sixtieth of an hour).

2. (informal) A short but unspecified time period.

   Synonyms: instant, jiffy, mo, moment, sec, second, tic

3. A unit of angle equal to one-sixtieth of a degree.

   Synonym: minute of arc

4. (chiefly in the plural, minutes) A (usually formal) written record of a meeting or a part of a meeting.
   • 2008, Pink Dandelion: The Quakers: A Very Short Introduction, p 52:

     The Clerk or 'recording Clerk' drafts a minute and then, or at a later time, reads it to the Meeting. Subsequent contributions are on the wording of the minute only, until it can be accepted by the Meeting. Once the minute is accepted, the Meeting moves on to the next item on the agenda.

5. A unit of purchase on a telephone or other network, especially a cell phone network, roughly equivalent in gross form to sixty seconds' use of the network.

6. A point in time; a moment.
7. A nautical or a geographic mile.
8. An old coin, a half farthing.
9. (obsolete) A very small part of anything, or anything very small; a jot; a whit.
10. (architecture) A fixed part of a module.
11. (slang, US, Canada, dialectal) A while or a long unspecified period of time

    Oh, I ain't heard that song in a minute!

    • 2010, Kenneth Ring, Letters from Palestine, page 18:

      “Man, I haven’t seen you in a minute,” he says, smiling still. “Maybe like two, three years ago?”

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• Tok Pisin: minit

Borrowings

Translations

Verb

minute (third-person singular simple present minutes, present participle minuting, simple past and past participle minuted)

1. (transitive) Of an event, to write in a memo or the minutes of a meeting.
2. To set down a short sketch or note of; to jot down; to make a minute or a brief summary of.

Translations

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin min?tus (“small", "petty”), perfect passive participle of minu? (“make smaller”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: m?nyo?ot', IPA^(key): /ma??nju?t/
• (US) enPR: m?n(y)o?ot', m?n(y)o?ot', IPA^(key): /ma??n(j)ut/, /m??n(j)ut/
• Rhymes: -u?t

Adjective

minute (comparative minuter, superlative minutest)

1. Very small.

   Synonyms: infinitesimal, insignificant, minuscule, tiny, trace

   Antonyms: big, enormous, colossal, huge, significant, tremendous, vast

2. Very careful and exact, giving small details.

   Synonyms: exact, exacting, excruciating, precise, scrupulous

Synonyms

See also Thesaurus:tiny and Thesaurus:meticulous.

Translations

Anagrams

• minuet, munite, mutein, mutine, untime

Afrikaans

Noun

minute

1. plural of minuut

Esperanto

Etymology

From minuto +? -e.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mi?nute/
• Hyphenation: mi?nu?te
• Rhymes: -ute

Adverb

minute

1. Lasting for a very short period; briefly, momentarily

French

Etymology

From Old French minute, borrowed from Latin min?ta. Compare menu, an inherited doublet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mi.nyt/

Noun

minute f (plural minutes)

1. minute (etymology 1, time unit, all same senses)

Derived terms

• minute de silence
• minute papillon

Descendants

• ? Farefare: miniti
• Haitian Creole: minit
• ? Romanian: minut

Interjection

minute

1. wait a sec!

Verb

minute

1. first-person singular present indicative of minuter
2. third-person singular present indicative of minuter
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of minuter
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of minuter
5. second-person singular imperative of minuter

Further reading

• “minute” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Italian

Adjective

minute

1. feminine plural of minuto

Anagrams

• emunti, munite

Latin

Participle

min?te

1. vocative masculine singular of min?tus

References

• minute in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• minute in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• minute in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

Middle English

Noun

minute

1. Alternative form of mynute

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin min?ta.

Noun

minute f (oblique plural minutes, nominative singular minute, nominative plural minutes)

1. minute (one sixtieth of an hour)

Coordinate terms

• segont
• eure
• jor
• semaine
• an

Descendants

• Middle French: minute
  • French: minute
    • ? Farefare: miniti
    • Haitian Creole: minit
    • ? Romanian: minut
  • ? Dutch: minuut
    • Afrikaans: minuut
• Norman: minnute
• Walloon: munute
• ? Central Franconian: Menutt, Minutt
• ? German: Minute, Minut f, [Term?] n
  • ? Czech: minuta
• ? Lower Sorbian: minuta
• ? Luxembourgish: Minutt
• ? Middle English: mynute, minute, mynut, mynet, minut
  • English: minute
    • Tok Pisin: minit
  • Scots: meenit

Portuguese

Verb

minute

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of minutar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of minutar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of minutar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of minutar

English

Etymology

From Middle English slight (“bad, of poor quality, unimportant, trivial, slender, slim, smooth, level”), from Old English sliht (“smooth, level”), from Proto-Germanic *slihtaz (“slippery, flat, level, plain”), related to English slick. Cognate with Scots slicht (“bad, of poor quality”), West Frisian sljocht (“smooth, level, plain, simple”), Dutch slecht (“bad”), Low German slecht (“bad”), German schlecht (“bad”) and schlicht (“plain, artless, natural”), Danish slet (“bad, evil, poor, nasty, wrong”), Swedish slät (“smooth”), Norwegian slett (“even”), Icelandic sléttur (“even, smooth, level”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: sl?t, IPA^(key): /sla?t/
• (US) IPA^(key): [sl?l?????]
• Rhymes: -a?t
• Homophone: sleight

Adjective

slight (comparative slighter, superlative slightest)

1. Small
   1. gentle or weak, not aggressive or powerful

   2. not thorough; superficial

   3. trifling; unimportant; insignificant
      • 1741, John Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Education & of the Conduct of the Understanding

        Some firmly embrace doctrines upon slight grounds.

   4. (archaic or rare) not far away in space or time

   Synonyms: ignorable, meaningless, negligible, tiny; see also Thesaurus:tiny, Thesaurus:insignificant

2. of slender build
   • 1822, Sir Walter Scott, Peveril of the Peak

     his own figure, which was formerly so slight

   Synonyms: lithe, svelte, willowy; see also Thesaurus:slender

3. (regional) Even, smooth or level

   Synonyms: flat, glassy, slick; see also Thesaurus:smooth

4. (especially said of the sea) still; with little or no movement on the surface

5. (obsolete) Foolish; silly; not intellectual.

   Synonyms: daft, fatuous, soft in the head; see also Thesaurus:foolish

6. (regional, obsolete) Bad, of poor quality.
   • 1889 (first published), George Washington, Writings

     we frequently have slight Goods and sometimes old and unsaleable Articles

   Synonyms: flimsy, lousy, shoddy; see also Thesaurus:low-quality

7. (dated) Slighting; treating with disdain.

   Synonyms: contemptuous, disdainful, scornful; see also Thesaurus:disdainful

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

slight (third-person singular simple present slights, present participle slighting, simple past and past participle slighted)

1. (transitive) To treat as unimportant or not worthy of attention; to make light of.
   • 1782, William Cowper, Truth

     the wretch who slights the bounty of the skies

2. (transitive) To give lesser weight or importance to.
   • 1915, Josephine Turck Baker, Correct English (volumes 16-17, page 182)

     Incontiguously (accent on tig; the rest of the syllables slighted) means in an incontiguous manner.

   Synonym: belittle

   Antonyms: respect, value, esteem

3. (transitive) To treat with disdain or neglect, usually out of prejudice, hatred, or jealousy; to ignore disrespectfully.
   • 1833, Mary Shelley, The Mortal Immortal

     Though true of heart, she was somewhat of a coquette in manner; and I was jealous as a Turk. She slighted me in a thousand ways, yet would never acknowledge herself to be in the wrong. She would drive me mad with anger, and then force me to beg her pardon.

   Synonyms: contemn, despise

   Antonyms: respect, honor

4. (intransitive) To act negligently or carelessly. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
5. (transitive, military, of a fortification) To render no longer defensible by full or partial demolition.
6. (transitive) To make even or level.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Hexham to this entry?)

7. (transitive) To throw heedlessly.

Derived terms

• slightingly

Translations

Noun

slight (plural slights)

1. The act of slighting; a deliberate act of neglect or discourtesy.

   Synonyms: ignoring, neglect, belittlement

   Antonym: respect

   • 1793, Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

     Never use a slighting expression to her, even in jest; for slights in jest, after frequent bandyings, are apt to end in angry earnest.
2. (obsolete) Sleight.

   • For till that stownd could never wight him harme,
     By subtilty, nor slight, nor might, nor mighty charme.

Derived terms

• put a slight upon

Translations

Further reading

• The Dictionary of the Scots Language
• The Dictionary of the Scots Language
• The Middle English Dictionary

Anagrams

• lights

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English sliht, from Proto-Germanic *slihtaz.

Alternative forms

• sli?t, slei?te, sle?t, slyght, sleght, sleight, sly?t

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slixt/, /sl?xt/
• Rhymes: -ixt

Adjective

slight

1. Level, even, smooth; having no bumps or lumps.
2. (rare) Of little importance or relevance.
3. (rare) Slim, narrow, skinny; of little breadth.
4. (rare) Badly made, poorly-built, or low-quality.

Descendants

• English: slight
• Scots: slicht
• Yola: sleight

References

• “slight, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-12-12.

Etymology 2

Noun

slight

1. Alternative form of sleight

Adjective

slight

1. Alternative form of sleight